Zany Grey

These days, when I'm not trying to move and get the cabin ready for summer visitors, refinishing furniture or blogging, I'm reading.  Usually the couple of books I check out each time I go to the Nederland library tide me over for two or three days until I can make another trip, return the completed books and replenish my supply.  One of the latest books I read was...

This author, Robert Harris, according to the book jacket, also wrote the Ghost Writer on which the Roman Polanski movie was based.  I highly recommend this book.  Some great dialogue between the American protagonist and his English business partner, provides insight into many of today's current financial topics, including hedge funds and what influences the stock markets, and is just a good all-around thriller but based on artificial intelligence.


However, sometimes I finish my up-to-date reading supply on a Saturday night with the horrific knowledge that the library isn't open on Sunday and I won't be able to re-supply until Monday.  Lately, I've been falling back on a set of Zane Grey books I bought last month at a small independent thrift store in Longmont for $1.50 each...

 
Colliers published these books, which were first copyrighted in 1931, so I'm assuming they might have been a book-club-type offering.  

My maternal grandmother had a glass-fronted bookcase filled with Zane Grey books and when I was eleven, twelve, thirteen, I devoured them and remember thinking they were "hot stuff."  

As an adult I still think Mr. Grey was a little kinky.  That Victorian (Edwardian?) thing, you know.  I wonder if the books' owner, Mr. Rousseau, found them so?...

I've read two of these and am about finished with a third...

With the arrival of summer, I find my morning routine going back to my pre-computer days here and take my coffee and a book out to the picnic table and read for a bit each morning.
 
In two of these Zane Grey books, young women, for one reason or another, are masquerading as young boys, but eventually they are "unmasked" by having their upper clothing torn off.  Focus is above the waist.  The difficulties of menstruation and urination for the heroine, surrounded by cowboys and living under rough conditions in the wilds of unsettled western United States while pretending to be male, are never addressed.  Bathing doesn't present a challenge because no one does it much.


Despite this disclaimer...

...which says, in part, "All rights in this book are reserved.  It may not be used for dramatic, motion- or talking-picture purposes....," I think early western movies and even early western T.V. shows, may have been, in fact, largely based on these books.  It's very easy to envision many of the scenes from the books.  Perhaps, to give Mr. Grey his due, that's because he was a good descriptive writer.  His accounts of cattle drives are truly evocative.  But I think it may also be because I saw a lot of westerns at the local movie house in the small Missouri town where I grew up before it burned when I was in fourth grade and probably never missed an episode of Gunsmoke or Rawhide after we finally got a television set when I was in seventh grade.


I have found the language usage and the changes that have occurred in it since these were written interesting.  The characters "ejaculate" a lot instead of simply "saying" something.  What appears to be innocent kissing is described as "making love."  I read a word this morning I have never seen in print..."anathematizing."  Obviously from the root "anathema"...but I had to look it up.  "Anathematize" means to curse or condemn.  It was used in a sentence to indicate the heroine was making a "silly falsehood" worse.  I have also found in this most recent book, West of the Pecos, a greater understanding of the accepted moral difference between outright cattle rustling and what was called "brand burning" or burning another design on top of an existing brand, both considered criminal, and branding unbranded cattle even though some might have been a new crop of calves that belonged with branded cattle.  The latter was done with a whoever-gets-there-first attitude and not considered criminal.


Grey's attempts to capture the sound of western dialogue failed miserably in my opinion.  Everyone sounds as if they were from Canada, saying "aboot" instead of "about."  Not sure what that was all aboot.  Men also frequently says "Ump-um" in response to someone else's comment.  I can't tell if that's an affirmative or a negative even in context.


The unabashed racism and use of today's politically incorrect terms in these books are very discomfiting, but do provide historic insight into what society accepted when they were written and perhaps the progress that has been made in the interim.

Anyway, even with the mouse damage...

...to Thunder Mountain (I wonder if that sizzling prose kept that mouse nest especially warm?), these have provided a measure of entertainment and I think I'll house them in the secretary when I get it painted.  Always good for a rainy or snow day here in the cabin.  Teddee

To the Salon

No, I'm not having my hair done although, since I'm growing it out, it is driving me crazy and I'd love to.  I'm on my way to a free Literary Salon, hosted by the Boulder Writers' Workshop.  I'm attending to see if I can get some guidance on publishing a children's book I wrote years ago and was never able to figure out how to publish since it needed to be an e-book, and I think I was a little ahead of the curve, and it involves some additional merchandise that purchasers could also buy.  I just had to complicate things!  A young woman I met at that dinner of Eldora residents I attended the first Friday of May suggested this, and since it costs nothing, I'm going to give it a whirl.


We did not get snow last night, but I did have ice on my windshield and in places on the deck this morning...

 I thought this section was so pretty...

And this really is ice on the deck...take my word for it....it's slick...

At least one hummingbird made it through the night.  This little guy...or gal...is so cagey that I've been trying all morning to get a photo, but the least little movement inside the cabin and off it goes, except some of the time it's showing curiosity and actually looking in the window, but I haven't been able to capture that, of course.  I'll get my camera set up, then by the time the bird returns, the camera has gone into repose again and by the time I get it turned on, off the bird flies.  Or I get the camera tethered to the computer and the hummingbird flits in for a drink then flies off again so quickly there is no way to get the photo.  This is as good as it's going to get this morning...

...I'm going to make myself late to the "salon"!  Teddee

Odds 'n Ends

Yesterday I took some updated documentation to Boulder Housing Partners needed in order to finalize my lease on the one-bedroom "senior housing" apartment that it appears I am definitely getting.  I hesitate to get too confident until I actually sign the lease and get the key as it has been such a long and convoluted process.  

It was cool enough that I was able to take Dixie along and she was one contended dog...

She stays alert until I actually get in the car and say, "O.K.  I think I'm ready."  Then she heaves a big sigh of contentment and settles in for the ride.  I'm hoping to be able to continue to spend quite a bit of time up here at the cabin, but know I will miss the day-to-dayness of the experience.  This apartment building in Boulder is a "no pets" building, so there won't be any chance of my having a dog or cat there...or a fox.  Maybe a hummingbird!


Prior to leaving, I had responded to an e-mail I had received from the Wild Bear Mountain Ecology Center in Nederland indicating it was starting to offer some adult workshops, the first being yesterday evening, topic "Introduction to Essences" by Eric Bresselsmith, www.originaltradegoods.com

I decided to go, even though the $20 was not in my budget.  Eric distills and distributes essential oils from conifers of various types.  It was actually more of a lecture and at the end, included in the $20, we got to select a hydrosol spritz, captured, if I understood, from the condensed steam during the distillation process.

I selected the white fir.  It smells medicinal, but I found it a comforting fragrance.  The essential oils were for sale at $30 for a small vial, but I really couldn't afford even one of those.  Eric is going to return with his "still" in mid-June and, if it isn't too expensive, I might sign up for that.  Participants actually get to help collect and prepare the conifer needles and sit through the distillation process.


This morning, feeling as if I were working in a small airport because of the hummingbird traffic, I got the trim, that I'd had to remove in order to get the old hide-a-bed out, nailed back into place on both sides of the cabin door...

This piece that I broke off is a little crooked, but it fit back together just like a puzzle piece.  Most of the nails had been bent when I removed them and, although I can remember my Dad hammering nails out straight again so they could be reused, I just made do with the few straight ones I had left.  I think the person who had originally installed this trim had gone a little overboard anyway.  If it looks as if I'm not going to get a new door put in the south end of the cabin because of getting the apartment in Boulder, I'll get a few more nails of the same type and drive them in before winter.


For right now, it will do and I can remove the blue painter's tape I had been using since Tuesday to keep the mosquitoes out...

I also did a better job of screwing in the door hinges, using a combination of long and really long screws because, although I could see that my brother-in-law had used the extra long screws in order to reach sound wood, this door jamb is so rotten, I just didn't have the strength to screw those in in all six holes.

I've been having trouble figuring out how to keep a screw driver head in the chock of my cordless drill.  I had no trouble last year when I used it to screw in those roofing nails, but when I hung that coat rack, it wasn't working (or rather my mind wasn't working) and I haven't taken the time to figure out what I'm doing wrong.  It would be nice to use tools so frequently that these things came second nature, but I seem to need a tutorial every time I undertake a project. 

I'm facing the same issue with the weed eater, which I bought last year.  I need to put a new string in and haven't a clue, although I do have the printed directions for that so it's just a matter of sitting down and reading them.  I can't believe how fast the weeds are growing.  This was the growth between the flagstones on May 11...

This is today...

My neighbor just came over and volunteered, not only to take the hide-a-bed to the dump if I can't find an alternative, but to take anything I need to move from the cabin down to the apartment if I get it!  Teddee

One More Time

I really am not recycling the snow photos from earlier in the week.  This is what the sky looked like in the west at dusk last night...

It rained pretty intensely for a bit about 1 a.m. this morning and it was very overcast when I got up.  Dixie and Jimmy didn't show and I assumed they were being kept inside.  This enabled me finally to escape to Boulder to do laundry without having to worry either about taking Dixie along or leaving her behind.  It rained right down again, just briefly, while I was in the laundromat and it was generally cold and unpleasant in Boulder.  The Denver Post on line had reported it might be colder down than in the mountains and it felt it.  After I finished the laundry, which I'd allowed to accumulated to overwhelming levels as usual, I went to Noodles & Co. for chicken noodle soup and it really was as good as mine and hit the spot. 

I stopped at Office Depot to get ink cartridges for my Kodak printer and one of the clerks, who asked if she could assist, was nice enough to point out in a sale bin a Kodak Ink Multipack, containing two color cartridges and one black cartridge plus Design Gallery Software, whatever that is, for $20.00, originally $50.99!  She said she assumed they were no longer going to carry this item and that was why it was on sale.  Such a deal. 

I stopped in Nederland to get a broasted chicken, but they were out and I had to get chicken tenders.  When I got home, both Dixie and Vixen were waiting in the yard for me!  I don't know how long the fox had been hanging around, but she seems to be getting very comfortable with Dixie.  Dixie ran up to the car and greeted me lavishly when I opened the door and Vixen came right up to be fed.  It was all very Eden-like until Apollo barged in and chased Vixen away so I had to show him the broom.  I told him he was ruining the mood, I didn't want him chasing the fox and if he didn't quit I was going to string up a piece of wire just about 1.5 feet off the ground right along the east side of my property.  I finally got him to go home, fixed Vixen's bowl and stood out there with the broom spotting for her until she finished. 

It started to snow just as I arrived at the Nederland "city" limits and it's snowing right down still.  I took these right after I got the livestock fed...

The forecast was for up to three inches.  We'll see.  Teddee

What a Crazy Day

Dixie and Jimmy, who usually don't show up until 9:30 a.m. at the earliest, were on deck at 6:30 a.m. this morning. I had semi-planned to either go to Boulder and do laundry or to Longmont to get some things on my growing shopping list, but knew it would be too hot down there to take Dixie along.  I'd checked NOAA for the Boulder high and it was predicted to be 86F degrees.

If Dixie is by herself, I often won't even know she's here until I go outside for some reason.  But Jimmy is a barker so, even though I'd just turned my electric blanket, which had automatically turned off, back on and was snuggling in for a little more sleep, I was unable to ignore them for more than 15 minutes.  

Then, Jimmy, who is usually more than happy to be on his way after a quick hand-out, wouldn't leave.  He didn't want to stay in the cabin either, but if I closed the door, he'd start barking again.  If I'd open the door, he'd sit there on one hind leg, reminiscent of a snail's foot, looking expectant, but wouldn't come back inside.  Finally, I told him, in no uncertain terms, to go home and he did.  

Dixie, too, couldn't make up her mind whether she wanted to be in or out.  First she was in but couldn't seem to find a place where she was comfortable, then she was out, then she wanted in the car, then she clambered out over the dirty laundry spilling it all over the ground.

I kept expecting the fox, waiting on tenterhooks for Dixie to start that recognizable barking, to go out and get her back in the cabin so the fox could eat unmolested.


The vixen had eaten last night then returned, making that strange little squeaking noise at the partly opened door, with a male in tow.  I guess this was the same fox that had accompanied her here after that one big snow we got in February, but it was too dark that night for me to be sure this was the same fox.  At that time I thought the larger of the two was the female.  At any rate, Vixen seemed happy and proud to be showing her date this wonderful food source.  He was much more skittish than her, keeping my car between himself and me.

I was impressed by how different their features are.  He has these wonderfully large, dark Valentino eyes.


Even though she seemed to have made an effort to bring him along, Vixen was very competitive about the food and even started eating from my  hand.  I had stopped at the grocery store and got one of the $4.99 Cheap Chickens and between the three of us we almost polished it off.  I was forced to throw Valentino's chicken to him far from her in order for him to get any and it took him a bit to realize I wasn't throwing the chicken at him.

So, this morning I thought he might come back with her.  I think either Vixen or the two of them might have come to be fed while Jimmy was still here, because I heard some barking, but didn't see any sign of foxes when I went out to check.  

It wasn't until about 3:30 p.m. that I looked out and saw Vixen solo.  I had put out her kibble and gone to the woodshed to get an egg out of the cooler when here came Apollo, the black bulldozer, full speed ahead, around the south side of the cabin, seemingly even more motivated to kill the fox because his owner has put him on a diet and I've not been giving him hand-outs.  We'd been blessedly free of him for the most part the last couple of days.  Vixen kept ahead of him, leading him through the cabin yards and up the mountain to the north, with me yelling at him and calling him at least one foul name, only realizing I'd done it after it was out and wondering what my neighbors, if they heard me, must think about their quiet, reclusive neighbor's language.


When I came back in, Dixie had thrown up, something she's never done, about a half gallon of water in which I stepped with my bare foot.  I don't know what that was all about, and I'm still waiting, kibble and egg in hand, for Vixen to return.


While all this was going on I was:  1) Trying for the second time to get through by phone to the manager of one of my storage units in Phoenix to alert her that I'd lost my debit card a couple of weeks ago and that I'd provided my new number on line after receiving a snail mail letter indicating my payment had been rejected; 2) Making my third call to the Boulder Housing Authority, for which I had completed forms in March for possible senior housing, to try to determine why they had sent me the 17 pages of forms again, asking me complete them once more and attend a second meeting next week--during my first two calls I'd been told in recorded messages that the most recent packet of information had been sent to me by a woman who was now working part time and I should call another employee and then when I called her number I was told she was on vacation for a week; 3) Making a follow-up phone call to an e-mail I'd sent to the ecology center in Nederland yesterday, to which I'd  received no response, inquiring whether, with a 29 F degree low being predicted and a high chance of rain/snow, I should perhaps wait to put out my hummingbird feeders.  In the last case the young lady I spoke with was very encouraging about going ahead and putting out the feeders indicating, "They're here!"  I said I knew they were here, that was why I was calling, but I'd had locals tell me they'd found hummingbirds frozen in place in late fall so was she sure this was sound advice during equally changeable spring weather?  Would she please check? 4) Phoning the Denver office of Fish and Game or whatever it's called in Colorado with the same question and getting another young girl on the line who was equally enthusiastic about putting the feeders out, concurring the hummingbirds "might die" in the severe weather, but acting as if that was just the way it sometimes went. Both young women urged me to bring my sticky, dripping hummingbird feeders inside at night to discourage bears!  Right.  I finally nabbed my neighbor and he suggested that since the only thing blooming at this altitude right now is dandelions, by refraining from putting the feeders out, the birds would probably at least go down to Nederland and that might save their lives if the weather gets really bad over the weekend.  I think it was the first sensible thing that happened all day.


I'm getting too accustomed to being retired.  I felt as if I were back at work.  Teddee

What a Difference a Day Makes

By yesterday afternoon, this was all that was left of the previous day's snow...

I took these this morning, but with our overnight low, things hadn't changed that much from late yesterday afternoon.  So, it's all clear for right now.  

In fact, there isn't a cloud in the sky, the sun is shining brightly and temps should be in the low 60F degrees today.  NOAA has revised the high for tomorrow down to 66F degrees from 69F degrees, however, and a 40%-50% chance of rain/snow is being predicted for Friday and Saturday.  With a low of 29F degrees predicted for Saturday night, plain old snow is on the menu again.


I heard my first hummingbird this morning!  I've e-mailed the ecology center in Nederland to find out, based on the above weather forecast, whether I should wait to put my feeders out.  I expect the answer to be "yes," but it's tempting.


I'd been waiting for the fox and she just came to be fed.  She's starting to look a little better, I think...

Hmm! Hmm!  Kibble and egg...

Gotta clean my face...

Resting...

You can see what a chunk something has taken out of her tail about midway up.  I wonder if the fur will ever grow back?   I think the ear split is old.


I put Dixie in the cabin while the fox is here and I praise Dixie to high heaven when she comes on command to leave the fox alone and come in.  She seems to be getting it.  I tell her she's my best girl to go against her nature.  We haven't seen nearly as much of Apollo.  He came one day last week with a blue harness on and a plastic-encased note attached, "Please don't feed me. Thx."  So, he's not getting any hand-outs and I'm trying to bring the fox's food back in as soon as she's finished so he doesn't get that.  He was really packing on the weight.  Was the original Apollo Creed a heavyweight?


Teddee

And It's Dixie By a Tail

It dawned on me this morning that the Kentucky Derby was being run today.  At one point in my life I spent quite a bit of time at race tracks around Chicago, not because I necessarily wanted to, but because I was trying to be companionable.  I'm afraid I was the one who got it started. 


As you've probably noted if you've been following my blog, I really like animals.  When I was about eleven, if I recall correctly, my parents bought a horse, Pats, from my great uncles who were selling their livestock and moving from the farm on which they'd lived for many years.  I was told she was part Tennessee Walking Horse and was therefore gaited.  I also was told she was capable of racking, but I've spent some time on the Internet trying to decipher exactly what racking is and think she may have been doing something else.  When she did this I think she had two feet on one side on the ground at the same time, then two feet on the other side on the ground at the same time.  My Dad could get her to do this on command.  Although she and I were soul mates, she was always in control when I road her and she only treated me to this experience once and it was delightful...a side-to-side rocking motion without any jarring at all.  If anyone knows anything about gaited horses, perhaps they can tell me what she was doing. 


I only mention this as a back story for the highlight of my Chicago horse racing experiences...my insisting on being one of this crowd of 41,000 fans when Triple Crown winner Secretariat raced at Arlington Park June 30, 1973, which launched the entire horse racing period in my life.

Photo by Bob Finch Daily Herald

I think somewhere I might still have my Secretariat Day bracelet, a plastic hospital I.D. wristlet that everyone entering the park got that day.  Now I'm not a groupie as far as human celebrities are concerned.  In fact, just the opposite, but I could still almost be convinced to join a Secretariat fan club.  What a horse.  My favorite memory of that day at Arlington Park was of him turning to look at the fans as he ran past the stands toward the finish line, totally relaxed, unperturbed by the noise of their shouts, seemingly basking in the adulation, so far out in front he wasn't even racing at that point.  The following is a description of the race finish from a Daily Herald article by John Leusch:

Secretariat wowed the crowd with an easy 9-length victory in the 1-mile race, registering his fastest time to date at that distance. The time of 1:47 flat was one-fifth of a second off the track record, even with jockey Ron Turcotte holding back the big red horse at the start and not releasing him until the final eighth of a mile, according to Daily Racing Form accounts.

I can't remember how long after this it was that I arranged a visit to Calumet Farms where Secretariat was retired to stud.  Somewhere in storage I have a snapshot of me feeding Secretariat Certs (be still my heart!), one of his favorite treats according to his trainer who hosted my visit and supplied the breath mints.  Afterward I sent a thank you note to the trainer along with a whole box of Certs for Secretariat.

So, I still enjoy following the Kentucky Derby and the other Triple Crown races.  I don't have television here in the cabin, but was able to do a little handicapping today, pulling up the entrants on the Kentucky Derby website where I could watch videos of their past races.  There were some really impressive horses in today's race.  If you followed the race, you know that Bodermeister was the favorite, but I'll Have Another, a California horse, won and Dullahan came in third.   I had made some notes on the speeds with which these horses had completed their last winning races, all of which were only 1 1/8 miles versus the Derby's 1 1/4.  I'll Have Another completed the Santa Anita Derby in 1:47.88.  Dullahan completed the Arkansas Derby in 1:47.94 and Bodermeister ran the Blue Grass Stakes at Keeneland in 1:48.71.  Just using those speeds, you could have predicted the winner and almost the trifecta!  Professional handicappers all over are groaning.  There are so many variables when trying to predict a horse race you can make yourself crazy.  I always thought it was more fun just to go down to the paddock and look at the horses as they paraded before each race.  I picked quite a few winners just from the way they looked.  If they're ready to win they look like you feel on a good day.


So how am I tying this back in to my life in this rustic cabin in the Rocky Mountains?  It's a long shot, but here goes...

Dixie, looking alert, waits for a coy Vixen to enter the starting gate for this fillies only race...

Dixie takes the lead...


Vixen goes wide...
 

































...no, really wide (look far left)...















...and Dixie wins...by a tail...right...no, far right.

So, there's the Eldora Derby, up close and personal!  Teddee

Spring Tease

The skies have looked like this off and on for the last several days...

...and the barometer must be way down because it's very quiet and just feels as if something needs to happen, but we'll get just a few moments of gusty winds and a few drops of rain and then it ends.

Even though we've had some really hot daytime temperatures, those aren't consistent either and NOAA predicts a low of 30F degrees tomorrow night, a low of 32F degrees Saturday night and 35F degrees Sunday night with a slight chance of snow off and on through the weekend.  The plants seem to know it's not spring yet, with just a few green sprigs showing...

These are wild iris...

I thought I had smothered everything winter before last when I had my firewood off-loaded in this area.  I had put a tarp underneath the wood and folded it over the top of the wood pile and only later realized this was not only unnecessary because of the low humidity here, but actually captured water under the wood.  We had such a late spring, with snow until Memorial Day, so I didn't get the last of the wood moved until mid-June.  When I finally moved the tarp, I had a bare "crop circle."  But it actually encouraged the growth of these iris.  This is what the meadow should look like later this spring...

The photo above was taken the beginning of June a year ago.  I don't know, since we stopped having snow so early this year, whether these will bloom at the same time this year.

Another sign of spring...a lactating, and ravenous, vixen...

She is so hungry she's willing to risk body and soul for calories.  Last night I fed her five chicken drumsticks and two raw eggs!  I think she was stowing some of the food because she would run off with it, but I could see she wasn't crossing the road south toward the creek and the den, and she'd be right back.  You can see the meaty end of a drumstick protruding from the side of her mouth below...

She's been coming around earlier and earlier in the day when the dogs are still around, so yesterday I finally shut Dixie in the cabin to allow the fox to come and get the food I was putting out.  I thought after the third piece of chicken she'd probably had her fill and let Dixie out, but the fox came back, appearing in the neighbor's yard to the west.  I just held Dixie's collar and told her she could learn not to chase the fox and explained that the fox was nursing and was very hungry and she needed to let her eat.  Dixie didn't even pull against her collar after that and I was able to hold her with my left hand and snap the shutter with my right.  Almost a lion and lamb moment.

I also, finally, got the last of the wood moved yesterday.  Here's the last load.  I said, "Hurrah!"

Today I got the recyclable trash taken to the dump and made this eggplant and cheese dish in the slow cooker. 

It has a good flavor, but is too soupy, so with cooler temps arriving again perhaps I'll get a good fire going in the wood stove tomorrow, put this in a shallow casserole dish and bake it the oven for a bit.

If you're still waiting for spring, how are you passing the time?  Teddee